Virtua Fighter 5

"Contends for best Virtua Fighter yet, but does it contend with other 3d fighters?"

Most people nowadays think of Tekken when you say 3d fighter. Well, most casual gamers, anyways. But maybe, just MAYBE there's something better out there.... "What? There's something BETTER than Tekken!?" Hecks yeah. Now, don't chew me out on this, but Virtua Fighter is the first and best 3d fighter out there, and the supposed final VF just supports the theory.

Presentation: 7/10
The presentation is slightly bland, with an arcade-style opening (Which explains the stories of the characters slightly with just in-game graphics), a rushed menu, and a few modes. On the plus side, there's commentary, which, although not very good, can add a sense of.... Broadcasting to the game. Also, there's a slight bit more options in the Options menu to fool around with, but that's just arbitrary stuff. Also, in VF tradition, 2 new fighters were added, and everyone is more balanced than ever.

Gameplay: 10/10
This is one area where VF outshines all others. All of the previous gameplay is intact from VF4: Evo, but it's even better! It seems impossible, but apparently Sega/AM2 didn't care and made nearly everything just right. Throws have been slowed down, which helps since throwers were slightly more dominating last game, and the no-frame throws return from VF3, which means that as long as the throw is A.) guaranteed, or B.) initiated within a good range, your character won't reach for their opponent. Also added were Offensive Moves. The Defensive Moves, which were just Evade Attacks on Evo, return, using P+K instead of P+K+G. Pressing P+K+G does Offensive Moves, which makes your character skid that extra distance to fool bullheaded fighters. Also, taking a cue from Dead or Alive, there are now High Recovery Kicks. My only gripes about the gameplay this time around, which should be fixed in Ver.C (on 360), are the fact that 1.) the majority of Sarah's throws have no animations, and therefore are always able to counter people, and 2.) some moves, like Jacky's jump kick, push characters back instead of going over them.

Characters: 8/10
If I was rating the characters based solely on their fighting styles, it'd be an 11 for sure. Yes, I MEANT to say 11. Each style is realistically portrayed through each character, and no character feels like they should fight differently. Also, there is a character for EVERYONE. Don't like Aiki-Jujitsu? Use Jeet-Kun-Do. Wrestling got you down? Use Monkey Kung-Fu. Also, the characters are fully customizable, ranging from wearing hats, to sunglasses, to jewelry, to red contacts (a.k.a. wastes of money), to new belts, to even getting a tan! If you can think it, then most likely, you can put it on. Also, to ease the creation, they added Costume Points, in which each character gets 10, and each piece of outfit takes points to wear. The characters themselves fall short, though. It's pretty ironic that their fists have more personality than their.... Personalities, but Virtua Fighter kinda never went for fleshed-out characters like DOA, Tekken, or even KOF. Each character has a motive, an outdated style, and a cheesy voice, sans a few characters. Although, you may find the characters who speak other languages seem cooler than the ones that you can understand. That's only because you don't know how uncool they probably are. Also, Lion and Aoi are cheesy and boring, respectively.

Graphics: 15/10? Naw, 10/10. I can't do that.
The graphics on VF are some of the best graphics I've ever seen in a game, besides BioShock. The textures are perfect (except in some FAAAAAR backgrounds), the clothing is perfect, the faces FINALLY show emotion, and everything is just..... perfect. Especially in high-def. It's mind-blowing how good the graphics are. Most of the time, the fighters look real, for the lighting and the immense amount of detail are so great. Also, they're better proportioned this time around. Wolf and Jeffry are HUGE. Lion grew up. Jacky and Akira aren't strangely super-buff. Vanessa doesn't have a Spartan's abs. Sarah's arms aren't huge, and Aoi lost her boobs. Also, I think they changed the characters' heights because Jacky and Wolf used to be the tallest (being the same height), but now, I think Jeffry might be. Also, the characters' clothes get wet. That's right. Depending on what fabric your character's outfit is made from, if they hit water, they get drenched. Also, there's only a few water stages, so it doesn't get old. Back from VF4 are the breakable floors and movable snow, too. Only now, you can break each individual part of the floor, and the snow can be matted down to the floor. Also, the walls all have special effects. Wooden walls splinter and snap, and metal walls bend and make sparks. Plus, the floors, depending on the materials used to make them, shine, reflect, and have texture, designs, and grout for tiled floors. Oh, and there's crowds now, too, in multiple stages. Now, for the animations. (This section's LONG, right?) Sega/AM2 said that nearly EVERYTHING in the game is motion-captured, albeit with a few "liberties". The "liberties" are obvious, but don't detract from the realism. Each character's walking animations have improved greatly, from Jacky's cocky skip, to Kage's focused walk. Now gone are the "Oh my God, look at his leg" moments, and "How did my guy teleport on the ground?" moments. All the animations are near-seamless, and really bring you into the game. The graphics and gameplay compliment each other greatly.

Sound: 7/10
I never thought I'd shut up about those graphics. Whew. Anyways, the sound is sub-par. Each character's voice has been updated, mostly for the better (except Lion and ESPECIALLY Brad), but they kept the VF4 clips, which mostly sound like they fit. Jacky and Brad are the only exceptions I found to that. The environmental sounds are great, and can really pull you into the environment. Cars and post-rain puddles in the city, Cheering crowds that cheer loudly after mid-air combos in the wrestling ring, and the calm splash of the waterfalls will really make you think that you're there. The hit sounds can be off sometimes, but they mostly pack punch (no pun intended), and haven't changed much since VF1. That's not a bad thing. You still have the big 'BOOM' sound for counters and such. The commentary is a little weird. One announcer tries to pronounce moves in other languages, and gets WAY too excited, while the other likes to comment on if a fight gets boring, or if someone hasn't lost in a while. You'll find yourself hating them one moment, and liking them the next.

Modes: 8/10
There are less modes since Evo, all of them being the training modes. Dojo mode takes their place, but there is no more VF dictionary, trials, missions, or demos for every move. Now, only moves with explicit timing or difficult commands get demos. Also, quest mode took a hit for the team. You start with all arcades, and there is practically NO money, along with ridiculous prices. Plus, the tournaments are few, far between, and usually useless. This time around, though, you can make a tagline, and actually WEAR your emblems under your ringname. Also, the A.I is more responsive (but only on Quest). Higher ranked people recover quickly, and lower ranked people use weak moves and stupid tactics (No offense to the people they're based off of). Overall, you can do without the extra training stuff, and if you NEED them, get 20 bucks and go to a game store to get Evo.

Replay: 8/10
This game challenges you to create your ideal character and achieve the highest rank. Along with learning a new character and doing a time attack on training for an item, just piecing together items for your person can bring you back for more. Also, special things happen depending on your Win/Loss record, and it's up to you to find out what they are.

Overall: 9/10
It may not be for "casual gamers", but Virtua Fighter 5 is where it's at if you like real fighting, but either aren't really fighting at the time, or don't want to get hurt. Although the button-mashing of Tekken and the Counter-riffic fighting of DOA are fun, the sheer complexity and realism of Virtua Fighter make it unmatched. There will never be a time in the game where something isn't like real fighting, nor will a command not make sense. The first (and in my opinion, best) 3d fighter is back, and it's ready to go.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/07/07

Game Release: Virtua Fighter 5 (US, 02/20/07)